Here, I need to exercise caution. Shanks once declared that football was a less serious sport than life and death, but Hillsborough proved that not even the legendary player was always correct. However, it felt as though someone had died on Friday.”
I’m urging the club to rename the most well-known football stand “The Klopp” in honour of Jurgen Klopp, who will go down as Liverpool’s all-time best manager. This will be his last game at Anfield.
Considering the part that icons like Sir Kenny Dalglish, Bob Paisley, and Bill Shankly have played in creating Liverpool history over the past 65 years, that is quite a claim for me to make.
After taking over a team that was struggling in the second division, Shanks transformed Anfield into the “bastion of invincibility” he had imagined. Paisley is still the only British manager to win three European Cups, having built six championship-winning teams. Naturally, Sir Kenny achieved the Double in his debut season as player-manager and then gave up a great deal of himself to lead LFC through the Hillsborough tragedy with remarkable humility.
Many times, ranking these great figures boils down to generational perceptions. One might make a compelling case that Klopp is the best. In the eight years after he joined a club that had been floating along for so long, he has won every trophy imaginable. But in addition to bringing prosperity to Merseyside, he has revived the pride and zeal of the Scouse people.
His legacy lives on in the two new stands that dominate Anfield and the cutting-edge training facility at Kirkby, both of which were paid for with the proceeds from his labours. But before Jurgen leaves at the end of the season, I hope Liverpool pays him a proper tribute. Rebranding The Kop in his honour for his last home game would be ideal.
At some point, there will undoubtedly be a more permanent memorial to the individual who was commissioned. The idea of erecting memorials to honour the memory of the deceased has always perplexed me. Jurgen will want to feel the adoration from Liverpool’s supporters while he is still able to feel it.
Strangely, the news that he would be departing Liverpool at the end of the season broke while I was in Manchester. To be sure it wasn’t the product of some naughty Manchester man on a wind-up, I looked up the date! The statement that Liverpool’s supporters are in a state of sorrow is not hyperbole.
Here, I need to exercise caution. Shanks once declared that football was a less serious sport than life and death, but Hillsborough proved that not even the legendary player was always correct. But on Friday, it felt like someone had truly passed away. One of our own, Scouser with a German accent, Jurgen is on his way out.
I don’t think Liverpool’s players should be overly concerned that they won’t concentrate during their manager’s farewell tour. In fact, I believe it will energise them even more. If he can channel the fervour that the fans will generate, Liverpool has the potential to become an unstoppable force.
As soon as the announcement was made on Friday, the conspiracy theories started. I was guilty of it myself. Had Jurgen fallen out with the owners? Was he disillusioned with a lack of transfer funds? The usual stuff.
Later that day, millions of people, including me, listened as Klopp told his supporters that he was aware that his stamina was running low and that it would be time to step down at the conclusion of the season. I’ve spent a lot of time with Jurgen, and his honesty is one of his best traits. He was obviously speaking from the heart, and his motivations were sincere.
Liverpool takes great pleasure in being a family club, and Klopp has been the ideal fit because of his adherence to principles that have been a cornerstone of Anfield for many years. He may be a football fan and a Liverpool supporter. However, Jurgen has consistently stated that his family comes first.
Let’s not forget the sacrifice he made in 2021 when his mother Elisabeth passed away and Jurgen was unable to travel back to Germany to attend her funeral because the world was in lockdown.
A few months ago, he became a grandfather for the first time during what he described as a “perfect summer.” Perhaps he wants to make the most of these magical formative first years. The Premier League will be a poorer place when Jurgen Klopp departs in May, but my message to him is: You’ll Never Walk Alone.
